Rinfret closes Greenwich retail store, moves design business

Published 3:08 pm, Friday, May 26, 2017

Principal Designer Cindy Rinfret poses at Rinfret, Ltd. interior design and decoration store on Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, Conn. Tuesday, May 23, 2017. After 15 years on Greenwich Avenue, Rinfet, Ltd. will be moving to a new office space on nearby 39 Lewis St. on June 15. Due to rising rents and the changing ways of retail, Rinfret, Ltd. will close the retail shop and focus on interior design out of the new Lewis Street office. less

Principal Designer Cindy Rinfret poses at Rinfret, Ltd. interior design and decoration store on Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, Conn. Tuesday, May 23, 2017. After 15 years on Greenwich Avenue, Rinfet, Ltd. will be moving to a new office space on nearby 39 Lewis St. on June 15. Due to rising rents and the changing ways of retail, Rinfret, Ltd. will close the retail shop and focus on interior design out of the new Lewis Street office. less

Principal Designer Cindy Rinfret speaks at Rinfret, Ltd. interior design and decoration store on Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, Conn. Tuesday, May 23, 2017. After 15 years on Greenwich Avenue, Rinfet, Ltd. will be moving to a new office space on nearby 39 Lewis St. on June 15. Due to rising rents and the changing ways of retail, Rinfret, Ltd. will close the retail shop and focus on interior design out of the new Lewis Street office. less

Principal Designer Cindy Rinfret poses at Rinfret, Ltd. interior design and decoration store on Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, Conn. Tuesday, May 23, 2017. After 15 years on Greenwich Avenue, Rinfet, Ltd. will be moving to a new office space on nearby 39 Lewis St. on June 15. Due to rising rents and the changing ways of retail, Rinfret, Ltd. will close the retail shop and focus on interior design out of the new Lewis Street office. less

In the last few months, Greenwich Avenue’s biggest tenant, Saks Shops at Greenwich, opened its third new store downtown; Ralph Lauren closed its doors, creating the avenue’s largest vacancy; and Outdoor Traders’ owners announced they’re retiring from the retail business, emptying another big downtown space.

All told, Greenwich Avenue just isn’t the same anymore, local business owner Cindy Rinfret said in an interview this week about her decision to wind down her own retail storefront on the avenue.

“Greenwich Avenue has outpriced small business,” Rinfret said. “A lot of changes are for the better, but it’s lost some of the local charm. ... My store is between an Apple (store) and Tesla; that kind of tells you everything.”

Rinfret, who’s run her award-winning interior design firm in Greenwich for more than 20 years, opted against re-signing her lease at 354 Greenwich Ave., and will shutter Rinfret Home & Garden, her retail business of 15 years.

During an afternoon this week, passersby paused every few minutes by Rinfret’s glass storefront to read her announcement plastered to the front windows that highlights how her rent has doubled in 15 years. One ducked into the store and repeated Rinfret’s laments about Greenwich Avenue’s changing character. “A lot of people have come in to say they’re sad, because I was the last holdout,” Rinfret said.

Rinfret Home & Garden has “always been a luxury offering to my customers,” Rinfret emphasized as the bulk of her business is for interior design work.

While she’s a little sad to close what’s become a destination for unique home goods collected from her world travels, she said, Rinfret remains upbeat about the future of her design firm. “The saddest thing about me closing is that I think it’s a sign of the times for Greenwich,” she said.

On June 15, Rinfret plans to move her staff to new offices on Lewis Street, where she will take over space vacated by a hedge fund abandoning Connecticut, — another sign, she said, of the region’s current business climate.

While reminiscing on her lengthy career designing in Greenwich and defining local style in her books published on the topic, Rinfret discussed the evolution of downtown. From a gas station, movie theater and convenience shop, she points out the mostly corporate brands that have taken over. “There doesn’t seem to be room for uniqueness anymore,” she said.

It’s not just a Greenwich occurrence, she added, “it’s everywhere.” The world traveler who entered the design business to satisfy her desire for a career that involved a life of architecture, travel and shopping said even the most marvelous destinations seem bland. “There’s the same shops everywhere now,” she said. “You can’t find small, boutique stores.”

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But since Greenwich is home, the transition is even harder here. “I’ve written two books on Greenwich style, and what is Greenwich style anymore? As little mom and pop shops leave, it takes away the soul of the community,” she said.